


Crashing Waves

by JustAndrea



Series: The Awesome Redemption Arc [1]
Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: Dealing with PTSD, Emotional Abuse, Gen, Nightmares, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 15:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8167576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: You don’t get away with messing with Lord Dominator without getting a few scars in the process, and you certainly don’t get to rebuild your ‘awesome’ world back around you without struggle and making a few missteps along the way.





	

_**“Baby, WAAAAAAIT!”**  
_

_His skin burned as the cart he was on flew through the opening in the throne room and down the hall, not stopping for anything (that had been one strong kick!). After a minute or so though, it did finally start to slow down - and it rolled right into a dead-end. Before it had even stopped, he saw a wall begin to form right in front of him, completely trapping him._

_“Geez,” Awesome mumbled, still gritting his teeth at the fresh memories, “W-What was all that for?” All he did was flirt a little, tried to win her over with his awesomeness! And for that she-… She…  
_

_Cringing, he looked down at himself. His whole body was covered in cooled lava, and as much as he tried to break through it - as much as his body shook - the actual rock didn’t move an inch. “Grop…” Even if it had cooled a bit, he could still feel the lava’s internal warmth on his raw skin. It was practically smothering - he barely had enough room under all of it to breathe._

_“O-Okay, easy now,” he told himself, “T-This is just her getting a little payback. Yeah… Once she calms down, she’ll let me go! I mean, even Hatey wouldn’t just keep me trapped like… like this!” Unable to move, no way to relax, completely trapped…_

_A distant explosion from outside the ship made him flinch slightly, interrupting his train of thought. “…Y-Yeah! She’ll maybe keep me in some cell-” Something he was sure he could easily escape once he had the chance- “But she wouldn’t just keep me trapped in lava! She may be evil but, like… She can’t be THAT evil!”  
_

_…Right?_

**()()()()()()()()()**

The soft sheets underneath him did nothing to help relax him. He had gotten in the habit of sleeping without blankets, but that hadn’t stopped him from sweating throughout the night. And as the pink numbers on the digital clock beside him turned to ‘1:37 AM’, Awesome’s eyes jolted awake.

“…For flarp’s sake,” he mumbled, sitting up and ignoring his shaking as he rubbed his eyes. Honestly, waking up in the middle of the night was starting to become a pretty familiar routine for him, but that didn’t make it any less tiring.

Leaving his room, the sounds of his Fistfighters snoring and the crickets outside his new, suburban home greeted him as he traveled down the hall. He was grateful that for once, Handy or Flex (who had taken to becoming their home’s security guard despite it not really being needed) weren’t up, which allowed him to enjoy a certain guilty (yet effective) pleasure…

The smell of tea leaves and seaweed soon filled the kitchen as the boiled water mixed with the store-bought packet. “So lame,” he mumbled, picking up the tea cup - honestly, what was he, some stuffy, weak-sauce aristocrat who didn’t know how to slam? But as he started sipping the warm drink and his body actually started to relax, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. “But so good~”

By the second or third sip, his eyelids were already threatening to close on him. Groaning slightly, Awesome lowered his cup and slumped in his seat. Just for a second… Just for a little more sleep…

The color red flashed under his eyelids, and his body stiffened - his skin stinging and burning as his ears heard that familiar, cruel laugh…

Eyes wide now, the emperor quickly sat back up, making sure he didn’t spill any seaweed tea on himself (really, getting something hot on him was the LAST thing he needed) before chugging the rest of the cup. “I’m cool,” he mumbled to himself, setting the now-empty cup back down, “I’m good… I’m alright… I’m coo-”

Suddenly the sound of an engine could be heard all across the planet. Without even thinking, Awesome dropped to his knees, his eyes clenched tightly. “GropgropgropwhatissheDOINGheregropgropGROP-!”

_“I’m telling you, Sir! This’ll be perfect!” “But this place looks so **boringgggg!** Just a bunch of houses!” “Exactly!”_

“Hm?” Blinking, Awesome slowly stood up. As soon as he moved back the kitchen curtains, he was greeted by the sight of that familiar Skullship - it’s mouth open as dozens of Watchdogs walked into the house across the street from him. Hater and Peepers on the other hand stood outside, not caring if their light arguing disturbed anyone else.

“Not only can we hide here, but we’ll be able to save up our fuel and resources!” Peepers explained, “Which is what we NEED in order to keep escaping Dominator-” Awesome felt himself flinch at the mention at her name, but tried to ignore it- “and eventually defeat her!”

“Ugh, fiiiine!” Hater said, crossing his arms, “But you had better come up with a plan soon! Something that’ll make sure that she’ll never humiliate me again! …Er, n-not that she ever really humiliated me in the first place!” “Already on it, Sir!” “Good!”

Awesome hummed a bit. Same old Hatey and Nerd, alright. “Guess they had the same idea…” Closing the curtains, he sat back down, letting himself rest his head on the table without closing his eyes. “Well, maybe I can try to mess with them a bit later…” At least doing _that_ would give him something else to think about.

**()()()()()()()()()**

_Awesome’s body ached, wanting so badly to break out of his full-body prison and just do something! Walk, dance, jump, run, ANYTHING! He just needed to move! He had struggled of course, but he just didn’t have the strength to break free. So much for his ‘guns’… To add insult to injury, each time his neck touched the cooled magma, the discomfort forcing him to swallow, it reminded him just how thirsty he was._

_How long had he been in there? Hours? Days?! No, no way it could’ve been days. …Right? Awesome groaned, and struggled slightly again, hoping that he could maybe make the rock around him crumble a bit, or at least make the cart tip over. Unsurprisingly, neither of these things happened, and he remained stuck._

_Thinking that it would at least kill time, Awesome of course tried sleeping, but between how uncomfortably hot and stiff his body was and the faded lights of the flowing lava within the ship walls - lights he could still see even when he closed his eyes - he could barely sleep (if he could even call it that) for more than half an hour._

_His groans became louder, his body hurting more and more, his mind begging for just a bit of relief. At one point, he even tried begging, as if Dominator was standing outside the wall, waiting for him to say it. “I’M SORRY! Alright?! Is that what you want to hear?! Please I’ll- I’ll clean your whole ship! I’ll let you have MY ship! I-I’ll do whatever you want, just- come on! Just let me go! PLEASE!” But no doorways formed. Who knew if anyone was even listening to him?_

_Eventually though, someone did come. He had been attempting sleep again, but once he heard the wall in front of him separate and saw who was coming in, he was wide awake. “Uh,” Awesome swallowed, wincing slightly, “H-Hey-”_

_“Did I say you could talk?” Dominator snapped, narrowing her eyes. Awesome flinched, hesitating a moment before shaking his head. “Exactly. So shut up before I make you.” She sauntered over to him, admiring her handy work for a moment before meeting his eyes. “So… Do you think you’ve had enough? Do you think you’re ready to surrender and bow before me?”  
_

_“I-” He scowled slightly. Was he really going to give up his whole empire to her? He had bowed before her once, sure, but he’d still had his freedom and army! Sure, she was super powerful and intimidating, and pretty flarping scary… But- “H-Hey, I’m not-”  
_

_In a flash, Dominator grabbed his dorsal fin, digging her nails into it and causing Awesome to yelp loudly before clenching his teeth. Even when he bucked his head back, she still refused to let go._

_“S-Stop! Let go! You-” He yelped again as Dominator squeezed harder.  
_

_“What makes YOU think you have the right to tell me what to do?” she growled. And, as her face-mask came down, lava started to flow from her fingertips and onto his fin…  
_

_Awesome’s screams were heard throughout the entire floor, maybe even the whole ship._

_**“Now, let me ask you again,”** Dominator started to say once the former-emperor’s screams finally turned into whimpers, her voice deep and distorted thanks to the mask, **“Do you surrender to me-?”**  
_

_“YES! Yesyesyes, I surrender! I SURRENDER!” Awesome begged, clenching his eyes shut again. A moment or two passed, but much to Awesome’s relief, the lava on his fin started to retreat. Once that was finished, Dominator placed a hand on his chest, heating up the lava around him once more before retracting it as well - causing Awesome to fall to his knees.  
_

_Dominator chuckled. **“Look at that, you’re already bowing to me~”** She brought her mask back up, revealing a cruel smirk. “There may just be hope for you, yet.” With that, she turned around and started walking towards the open wall - which was already starting to reform._

_Awesome looked up, his eyes wide. “H-Huh?” was all he managed to say._

_Dominator glanced back at him, still smirking. “Buuuut, we can still make some improvements~” she told him as she left the cell, “Have fun!” And with that, the wall was back up, and Awesome was once again all alone._

**()()()()()()()()()()()**

“Man, who would’ve thought they would be able to pull off such a great party?” “I know, right? And did you see all that coleslaw?!” “Yeah! The music over there seemed pretty good too.” “A nice break from dubstep at least…” “Heh, yeah. Too bad we can’t go over there.” “Eh, I don’t know. It looks like it’s gonna last a while. Maybe we could just sneak over after-”

A loud growl made both Fistfighters freeze. They didn’t even have to look over at their emperor to know that he had heard everything - and that he wasn’t too happy about what they had to say. So, deciding not to push their luck, the two soldiers quickly ran off, leaving Awesome alone.

The shark-man scowled, directing his attention back to the window on the limo - back to the luau-themed barbecue party going on across the street. Ugh, Hater wasn’t even there and the party was STILL going on! What the flarp?!

“Luaus aren’t that cool,” Awesome mumbled to himself, crossing his arms as he pressed his snout against the glass slightly, “They’re totes lame… Ugh, why would ANYONE think that a dumb luau party - a party thrown by the lord of dorks himself! - would be cooler and more enjoyable than one of mine-?!”

He stopped, his mind correcting him. The party may have been at Hater’s house, but technically, the skeletal lord hadn’t been the one to plan it…

Awesome barred his teeth once more, his fists clenching. That pipsqueak nerd… He didn’t even care about parties! And yet he was able to plan a perfect one - one that was great enough to drag people away from his awesome party?! It didn’t make any sense! And it was _infuriating_.

“First the furball shows me up on my own flarping stage, then Peepsqueak tries to talk smack, then-” A flash of heat, a cruel laugh- He shook his head, deciding to skip past that example. “A-And now, now this?! SO not cool!”

He had to do something… Pulling himself away from the window, he reached up and opened the door on the roof of the limo-ship. Putting on a toothy grin, he gave a wave, catching some of the other villains’ attentions. “Heyyyy, bros! If you’re done hangin’ over there, I’ve got some sweet treats and sick beats waitin’ for you over here!”

A couple of the villains, like Mandrake and Lil’ Bits, rolled their eyes. “Uhh, no thanks, Awesome! We’re good over here!” Kraggthaaar replied.

His grin faltered a bit. “Come onnnn! I’ll even let you chill in my hot tub! Plus I’ve got some new moves I’ve been workin’ on that I can show off to you guys! It’ll be an awesome exclusive!”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Sourdough said bluntly before they and their plate-holder turned away from him, with the other villains simply going back to their conversations or grabbing more food.

“…Yeah, alright! Fine!” Awesome shouted, his grin completely gone now, “Whatevs! It’s not like I need you lamewads crowding up my ship anyway!” And with that, he ducked back down into the limo, growling again. What was going on?! Why the flarp were they STILL choosing Hater’s party over his?! Didn’t they know how valuable a personal Awesome-Invite was?!

He groaned, flopping down on his couch. He just didn’t get it… Several months ago, all he’d have to do is say the word ‘party’ and he’d have people interested! And now, now a party thrown by Peepers of all people could get more attention than his! 

Peepers… That little-  _“What have you got, Awesome, hm? …One day you’ll wake up and realize that all you’ve got are some ugly clothes, no real friends, and as a villain, you’re a FAILURE!”_

Grabbing the closest thing near him - which just so happened to be a bottle of Thunderblazz - Awesome threw it hard against the wall before turning over onto his stomach. “I’m gonna punch that annoying little jerk’s eye out the first chance I get…” But until then, he was going to try and sleep, making it seem like this whole ordeal was just a bad dream. …And hope that for once, he didn’t get any other bad dreams.

**()()()()()()()()()()()**

_As much as he was still hurting, the fact that he was actually somewhat free again was enough to distract him from both it and the fact that he had no idea how long he had been imprisoned, or how long it would be until Dominator returned. All he could do was wait. Wait, and keep his mind busy._

_So, Awesome moved. He paced, spun, flipped, jumped, ran, danced, and just did any type of movement he could think of, not caring how much it tired him out or how it just made the much more noticeable aches in his stomach and dryness in his throat that much worse. He just had to do something, anything!_

_As the hours went on though, his body couldn’t help but slow down, which just made his thoughts start to race again… How long had he been trapped here? When was Dominator going to return? Was she just going to leave him there to die? Would ANYONE come for him? How long had he been in this cell? Was the room getting smaller? Was it getting hotter? **How long had he been trapped?!** …And how much longer would he stay there?_

_At some point, Awesome decided to start being stupid and reckless, if only to get out that grop-darned cell! To see someone, to have someone see him! To know that he hadn’t just been forgotten and left to die. So, he started yelling, banging on the walls and trying to break them the best he could. Unfortunately, that only earned him a pair of bloody knuckles and sore arms. He briefly considered yelling out a couple of insults in order to get Dominator to come back, but… He cringed as he acknowledged his burns._

_“C-Come on,” he mumbled, bringing his fist back, “Just gotta get out of here!”  
_

_He continued to punch and claw at the technology infused rock, but eventually forced himself to stop. So, Awesome went back to pacing, holding his arms and trying to keep his eyes to the floor, as if he could somehow force himself to forget where he was._

_More time passed. Every other step was a stumble, every few seconds his burns would sting or his stomach would growl or his dry throat would make him swallow again. Awesome didn’t remember when exactly it happened, but by the time Dominator returned, he was laying on the floor on his stomach like some beached whale._

_Dominator didn’t even comment - it was if she had been expecting him to be in this position when she came back. She just waved her hand, allowing a probe - Number 706, it looked like - to fly in, perfectly balancing a pitcher of water on its head._

_As soon as Awesome saw that, he attacked the pitcher like a- well, like a shark! - and chugged the whole thing in mere seconds. In the back of his mind, he acknowledged that he had probably just beat his chugging record, but at the moment, he couldn’t exactly feel proud of that. “Ohhh, that’s right!” he heard Dominator say as he drank the last few drops, a cruel giggle in her voice, “Sharks need water, don’t they?”_

_Forcing himself to look up at her, the former emperor watched curiously as she held up a piece of bread, burning it to a crisp before tossing it down to him. “Hurry up and eat this. Then you get to follow me.”_

_Awesome blinked. “Why-?”_

_Dominator glared, as if this question had somehow offended her. In a flash, she held out her hand and fired - lava handcuffs were around the former emperor’s wrists in an instant, making him yelp slightly. And to think, he used to sorta like handcuffs…_

_“Let’s see if we can get this through that big head of yours, shall we?” Dominator asked, grabbing his jaw and forcing him to look at her, “Any amount awesomeness that you THINK you have? That doesn’t exist here. AT ALL. You don’t get to ask questions, and you **certainly** don’t get to refuse me!”  
_

_Her voice began to get louder, her hands warming up - and threatening to get hotter. Awesome tried to shrink back, but Dominator kept him in place. “You’re. My. PRISONER! A failure! NOTHING! Just a pathetic, fish-faced loser that just didn’t know when to quit! I don’t need to keep you alive! You make one mistake - do one little thing that annoys me - and I WILL finish what I started!” He felt his cheek start to burn under her thumb. **“Understand?!”**_

_“Y-Yes!” he whimpered, wincing. “I do! I-I do understand!”  
_

_“…Good.” She smiled, letting his jaw go and giving him a small pat on the snout. “Now, eat.” Awesome didn’t even hesitate. He just picked up the burnt toast and silently ate it in about two bites, the cooled-rock chains on his cuffs shaking along with him.  
_

_Once that was done, Dominator led him out of his cell and back up the hall - back towards her throne room. As soon as she entered, she opened the curtain of lava behind her throne with a casual wave of her hand - and Awesome’s eyes widened._

_The other villains… Some of the cells were empty but, most of them were full. Filled with what were once the most threatening conquerors and destroyers in the galaxy. “Yeah I know, I could’ve just locked you in here right away like all the others,” Dominator said as she continued to lead him, “But-” She shot him a smirk. “I figured you deserved something special before you moved in.”_

_His new cell was the same size, but he was somewhat thankful for the bars in front of him. Better than another wall, at least. Dominator said a couple other things, but Awesome could barely hear her. He just stood behind the locked door, keeping silent until she removed his cuffs - allowing them to fall off and morph back into the ship’s floor - and finally left. Once she did, he walked up to the door, placing his sore hands on the bars. His tired eyes slowly started to look around, wincing slightly at the lava curtain when it was put back up._

_There were a few cells he could actually see, along with the villains inside them. Of course, it wasn’t a happy sight. They were all different, yet they all looked exactly the same. Sad, defeated, worried, broken, and… pity. They were giving him looks of pity for falling into the same situation that they did._

_“…” Awesome glanced down, squeezing the obsidian bars. This really was the end for all of them, wasn’t it?_

**()()()()()()()()()()**

He was on his stage. Every single spotlight was on him. His speakers were blasting, a disco ball spun above him and shone as bright as a star, and he had thousands - maybe even _millions_ of people - screaming his name as he danced the night away.

Awesome grinned as he performed another flawless dance move. Now this, this was how it was supposed to be! He did a flip, effortlessly moving into a pop-and-lock routine. The crowd went wild, nearly everyone on their feet now. Aw yeah! Now it was time for the grand finale! He stepped forward - and a piece of the stage fell out from under him, causing him to flinch and step back.

The cheers slowed, now being replaced with whispers and curious looks. Forcing a grin, Awesome simply acted like nothing had happened, and stepped around the hole in his stage - only to create another hole next to it. What was happening? He tried to keep dancing, but with every step more of his stage started to wobble and fall apart. Every step was a stumble, and a few times he nearly fell into the quickly forming crevices in front of him. Some of the crowd started to boo, others started to laugh.

“H-Hey, come on!” he shouted at them, “This isn’t-” He gasped as he felt more of the floor below him crack and crumble. He gasped, jumping back and causing him to land on his backside. The laughs and boos grew louder. “KNOCK IT OFF!” he yelled, “Just what is going on?!”

 _“Isn’t it obvious…? They’re finally getting a chance to see how **pathetic** you really are~” _ Awesome’s eyes widened, and while his body was frozen in fear, his skin started to heat up. “N-No-”

More of the stage crumbled, leaving him with just a small, wooden island to stand on as lava started coming up through the cracks and the jeering crowd began to melt away. “J-Just leave me alone!” the emperor tried to order, though it came out more as a whimper, “P-Please just-”

 _ **“Hey!** What did I say about telling me what to do?_” The lava started to come up onto his feet, his legs- A hot hand grabbed his shoulder, causing lava to spread out there too.

“I-I’m sorry! I-! I-!” She finally came face-to-face with him, her eyes just as fiery as her powers, and her smile showing no mercy. 

 _“Come on, it’s not like anyone’s gonna miss you. And besides-”_ She grinned, the lava getting hotter as it moved onto his neck. Her mask came down, her voice becoming just as distorted as the music now playing over his speakers, **_“I promised you that I was going to finish you off, didn’t I?”_** The lava covered his neck, his fin, his mouth, his face-

Awesome screamed, nearly falling out of his bed. “NO! Nonono! N-!” He stopped, his eyes wide. His heartbeat and breathing were still rapid, but at least he was able to stop his screaming. “G-Grop… F-Flarpin-” He clenched his eyes shut for a moment as his hand touched his neck. “Grop…” 

Maybe he should’ve been used to it by now. The nightmares had been getting worse and worse lately, after all - ever since the barbecue fiasco. …In fact, he was sorta angry at himself for still being afraid of- of _her_ \- after all these weeks, yet the rest of him was still feeling too freaked out and terrified to feel ashamed.

Though, he could still somewhat acknowledge how ridiculous it all was. “Like, can I seriously not… not get a full night’s sleep at all now? Ugh…” He started to yawn, but flinched when he thought he heard the whirl of a Dom Bot. “…Aaaaand now I’m hearing things. Awesome.”

Getting up, he started trudging towards his limo’s lounge. Maybe a midnight snack or a quick Thunderblazz would take his edge off, and if that didn’t work, he could always try swimming a bit. Sleeping underwater always seemed to-

He stopped. Again, he heard the whirl of a lava bot, followed by a faint yet still pretty noticeable explosion. His eyes widened, and though his legs nearly made him run, Awesome still dragged himself to the nearest window. He had to at least make sure he wasn’t crazy.

Sure enough, as soon as he looked out it, he could see several Dom bots surveying the cul-da-sac. Some were blowing up trash cans and burning down trees, others were breaking down doors… He couldn’t see her ship, but he did see about a dozen more lava bots (including a couple of the really big ones) flying towards Suburbon.

“G-Grop… G-” His ship lurched upwards, making Awesome yelp as the force knocked him over. By the time he got back on his feet, Surburbon 5 was practically a marble in a vast, black sky. And, even if he felt a bit sorry for all the people and the other villains still there, the former emperor still felt a bit relieved by the sight.

“Sir?” a voice asked - Awesome managed to hold back his flinch and turned to look at his butler. “Sorry about taking off without warning, but considering the situation, I assumed you wouldn’t mind.”

“Y-Yeah, right…” Awesome glanced away, “Don’t worry, Handy. It’s cool.”

“Our destination is our neighboring galaxy. It should be the safest place to hide.” “Yeah…” “…Can I get you anything, Sir?” “Nah, I’m good, Handy.” “Are you sure-?”

“I said I’m fine, alright?!” Awesome snapped. His butler’s expression didn’t change. He simply gave a small nod. 

“Alright, then… Goodnight, Sir.” “…Yeah. Later, Handy.” As soon as the little Fistfighter gentleman left, Awesome made his way back to his bed. He just had to forget about all of this… He had a new galaxy to start ruling over, after all. Parties to throw, new fans - BETTER fans - to gain. It didn’t matter if he still was only getting about three hours of good sleep or if he didn’t feel like partying.

He just had to forget about it all. He just had to forget about her. After all, who cared what happened? He was still the Prince of Parties, the Rad Shark-dude that everyone wanted to hang with, THE Emperor of Awesomeness!

…Right?

**()()()()()()()()()()**

_Within a week or so, Dominator found and imprisoned the remaining villains - all except for one. Though, none of them were expecting the final villain to somehow be their savior - especially once he started singing._

_“Tc’ch, leave it to Hatey to practically deliver himself to her on a silver platter,” Awesome muttered, unable to even laugh at his rival’s dorky little love song. Of course, his frown only deepened when Dominator finally revealed all of them, along with the real reason behind her ‘invitation’.  
_

_It wouldn’t be much longer now… Even if he couldn’t see what she was doing to Hater and the furball, Awesome had a pretty good feeling what she was planning. She was a villain for flarp’s sake, what else would she do?! Honestly, the only question was… Once she killed Hater and Wander, would she finally kill the rest of them?_

_Awesome’s stomach clenched. This was… No. No, this couldn’t be the end! Trying to control his breathing as he did so, he backed away and started to search his cell. No weapons, of course. Any loose bits of rock? No… No secret doors or panels, no windows, no holes in the ceiling. He was too big to squeeze through the bars, and he didn’t have anything to break them with!_

_He groaned, his desperation growing by the second. “Come onnn!” he mumbled to himself, “There has to be something! There-” The shark stopped, his mind remembering the toilet (if it could even be called that - it was really just a decent sized pipe coming up from the floor in the corner of his cell) just as his eyes landed on it._

_“…” Bracing himself, he took off his cape and ran over to the sewage pipe. There was no need to hold his breath - his gills were already opening up a bit without his cape-collar hiding them - but he still scrunched up his nose and tried not to breathe in as he dunked his head inside the pipe._

_It was definitely a tight squeeze, but still bigger and better than any other escape route he had. Which was, of course, none - something he had to remind himself as he continued swimming through the disgusting water, choking slightly on the smell and taste of it. Better than be burned again, and certainly better than death!_

_As other pipes started to connect to the one he was in, it did start to widen out a bit. A couple turns, and he found himself in an even bigger pipe! Most likely the main one for the ship, he decided. The water rippled a bit, and he could hear a faint alarm going off behind him, but he didn’t dare turn back. He just kept swimming, hoping that the pipe let out somewhere outside the ship._

**()()()()()()()()()()**

It had been a couple months since he’d left his galaxy. He didn’t try to keep up on any news from his old home turf - in fact, whenever he saw hints of it on any social media or in any intergalactic magazine, he’d completely ignore it. Though, with all the Fistfighters talking about it and passing around newspapers, this little piece of news was impossible to ignore. 

All things considered, he should’ve been happy once he heard it. Relieved, ecstatic even! And yet, as Awesome read and reread the headline, it seemed like the only emotion he could feel was frustration and anger.

**_LORD HATER AND TRAVELING NOMADS SAVE THE GALAXY! LORD HATER IS HAILED AS A HERO! DOMINATOR HAS FLED - OUR GALAXY IS SLOWLY COMING BACK TO LIFE!_ **

“How did he do it? …How the FLARP did that dork defeat HER?!” It just didn’t seem possible!

Sure, Hater had done a decent job holding his own against her in the Blasteroid Asteroid Formation battle, but surprise sucker punches and cool lightning powers aside, she had still seemed more powerful than him. And after she gained ice powers to go alongside her lava, she had seemed totally undefeatable! So how did Hater manage to apparently win their final fight with each other?!

Awesome growled. This was wrong… This was BEYOND uncool! He was supposed to be the greatest, coolest and most powerful in the galaxy, not Hater! He wasn’t supposed to be a loser! He wasn’t supposed to be one of the weak villains, the lame ones that couldn’t even win a fight against a rival, the ones that got captured and forced to surrender - that should’ve been Hater! And yet Hater was the one getting all the glory, all the praise and the fans and the success and the happiness, while Awesome just ended up getting-

He suddenly ripped the newspaper in half, throwing it on the floor. It just wasn’t fair… “Hmph, y-yeah well, enjoy it while you can, Hater…” Taking a moment to kick the piece of paper that had landed on his boot away, Awesome stomped out of his room and towards the front of the limo. Once he kicked the door open, he didn’t even give his chauffeur a chance to talk before making his demands clear. “Make a u-turn the first chance you get, got it? Cause we’re going back to MY galaxy!” He just had to make this right. He HAD to get his reputation and his glory back!

And, for the next month or so, that’s exactly what Awesome planned for.

**()()()()()()()()()()**

_By the time he reached the back end of the pipe, he was all the way on the other side of the ship - right below where its engine tailpipes were. In other words, he had a way out. He was free!_

_Sure, there was a clear cover on the pipe so that water wasn’t constantly pouring out behind the ship, but compared to the other things he had seen and been trapped by on the dangerous vessel, it was barely an obstacle. Awesome couldn’t help but grin a bit. He was out! He was actually out! …Well, almost._

_Pushing the cover open, he and the brownish water around him rushed out, barely giving him time to close the cover again. Once it was in a gravity-free environment though, the water began to come back together, keeping a not-quite-round but still ball-like shape around him._

_“Sort of like an orbubble,” Awesome mumbled to himself, looking around his new - yet still totally gross - form of transportation. At least he could still breathe, at least he could still move… At least he was free._

_Hands shaking a bit, he pulled out his phone. Unsurprisingly, his battery was completely dead. “Okay, first thing’s first… Gotta find a charger. Then I gotta see if any of my bros are still around…” There had to be at least a few dozen Fistfighters left in this galaxy, right? “Should find somewhere to stay too-” Somewhere to hide- “and maybe some water that’s actually clean… Then-”_

_He paused, finally noticing the alarm from Dominator’s ship again. It definitely got a lot louder… What the heck was going on? Slowly, he started to swim, moving his sewage-orbubble back towards the front of the vessel, preparing himself to swim away if missiles or lasers started flying._

_And that’s when he saw it: The other imprisoned villains! All of them! Some in stolen Watchdog escape ships, others in orbubbles, others with just space helmets, willing to ‘swim’ in space rather than take their chances with Dominator. But, how had they-? It was then Awesome noticed several Watchdogs leave with the villains, quickly heading back towards the Skullship. Had they helped the others escape? Or had Hater done something to the ship to make all the cells open up?_

_Honestly, it didn’t really matter which one it was. …So, if he had just waited a couple minutes more, then- “…Oh whatever,” the shark-man sighed, laying down on his stomach in his ‘orbubble’ and kicking his feet slightly, just enough for him to move away from his former prison._

_He wouldn’t be killed. He could just swim away - find somewhere to hide, or even go to another galaxy to rebuild his  empire. He would be able to forget about his imprisonment - pretend it never even happened and just go back to living his awesome life - and that was all that mattered._

_And with that, Awesome closed his eyes as his feet continued to kick, his mind doing its best to push any and all memories of Dom- … Of **her** , as far back as possible. He didn’t even notice the explosion of ice behind him._

**()()()()()()()()()**

It was nearly showtime… The biggest, most awesomest party of his life. No way was it not going to work - Awesome was going to make sure of that.

Since most of the planets in the galaxy had come back to life (and those that hadn’t were slowly getting there), Awesome hadn’t had to worry about finding one that was stable enough or had enough oxygen - he just had to find the biggest one. Once he did that, that’s when he _really_ started putting together his big comeback party!

The best party snacks, the sickest beats, the hippest decor, the best speakers and the brightest stage lights! He had not one, but SEVERAL disco balls, plus enough glowsticks to light the dark caverns of Haspernoct for a week! His giant tv screen had been replaced, dancefloor panels and lights had been installed in his stage, and he was certain that every song he played would be heard from lightyears away. 

Whenever he wasn’t planning or buying something new, Awesome dedicated himself to practicing whatever he had to in order to get his party mojo back - from new dance moves, to refreshing himself on stage presence, to learning all the ways he could get his party back on the hype train if it started to tank. Absolutely nothing was going to ruin his big comeback!

That’s what he kept telling himself, at least - that it would all be perfect, and it would all be worth it. “Just gotta put on the finishing touch,” he mumbled before pursing his lips. No look was complete without lipstick of course. 

 _*Knock knock*_  “Boss?” “Ughhhh.” Putting his lipstick down, Awesome opened the door. “What, Flex?”

“Just wanted to let you know that pretty much everyone’s here,” the bouncer announced, pleasing his emperor, “Though, we did get an extra guest.” 

“Oh yeah?” Awesome asked, raising an eyebrow, “And who’s that?” “Lord Hater. Probably his commander and a few of his soldiers too.”

The shark-man paused for a moment, then grinned. “Heh, guess he wants to see what _real_ awesomeness looks like~ Let them stay, and start doing the mic checks. Party starts in two, kay?”

Flex took a moment to respond, as if trying to decide whether or not to bring his opinion up at all. “…Yeahhh, about that. Maybe we should wait another hour or two? I mean, just so you can at least get a bite to eat, or maybe take a power nap or somethin’?”

Awesome’s smirk quickly became flat. “No way, bro. I can do all of that stuff afterwards, alright? No way am I going to be late! We’re starting this party in two minutes! Got it?!” “But, Boss-” He started barring his teeth, and the bouncer quickly got the message. “Alright, be on stage in two.”

“Kay.” With that, Awesome shut the door, sighing. And as he walked back to the mirror, he took a moment to rub his eyes, as if to rub away any fatigue that might have been on his face. …Only to realize that he just messed up all his eyeshadow work. “Ugh, great.” Thankfully, a few more quick touch-ups and some lipstick, and he was ready to go.

By the time he had gotten out on stage, the music had already started playing, with most of the crowd raving a bit to it. Everyone was there - from the people he actually invited, to the people who were just curious about the big party, to the citizens of the planet that had been forced to come. 

Giving a grin as he stood in the shadows of the stage, Awesome took a mic from one of his soldiers, and made his presence known: “I think it’s time we get this party REALLY started, don’t you think~?”

The stage lights turned on, and every eye was now on him. Despite his absence, the former emperor was looking as ‘awesome’ as ever - perhaps even moreso, at least in his opinion. He was wearing the brightest, shiniest and coolest clothes he could find, complete with a new cape and gold plated boots, not to mention all the other bling he was wearing. Most of the party goers cheered with excitement while the rest of the crowd looked at him curiously, wondering just what he had in store for all of them.

“Yeah, I know I’ve been away for a while,” he said casually as he strutted around the stage, “But hey, the best things are _always_ worth the wait~” A few more cheers. Awesome’s grin widened. Yes, things were going EXACTLY how they should be. “And I don’t know about you all, but I can’t wait any longer! So come on! Let’s _PARTYYYY!_ ” With that, he tossed the microphone away (knowing one of his Fistfighters would catch it) and went into a spin before striking a pose. 

The crowd, of course, went wild as he performed his routine. Flips, jumps, spins, one perfect step after another. He had made sure it was perfect, nearly ignoring the music to do so. “Yeah! You all like this?!” he shouted as he landed a perfect split. His audience screamed back at him, clapping and cheering as much as they could. “Heh, only the best from EMPEROR AWESOME!”

Getting back on his feet, he widely stepped forward - and hesitated when he felt a small pain in his side, and it stayed there even as he slightly stumbled into the next move. But it was cool, right? Maybe he had just started a bit too fast or something. Or maybe it was just a cramp, he could work through it. Step, step, spin, jump, land- 

Another small pain, now an ache in his stomach. But, with his grin faltering a bit, Awesome still continued with the routine. He just had to work through it, that’s all. Tc’ch, it took more than a couple cramps to take someone as awesome as him down! He was Awesome, he was cool and he wasn’t a loser who needed breaks in between dances!

So, ignoring how heavy his breath was getting, Awesome decided to bring in a bit of breakdancing. A twist here, a bend there, a sweet backflip, and- 

And he stumbled. No, not just stumbled. He nearly _fell_. 

Feeling his heart skip a beat, he looked up and, after blinking a couple times to clear his eyes, he frowned when he saw just how unhyped the crowd had gotten. How hardly anyone was cheering now, and how they just looked confused…

“H-Hey, come on, dudes!” Awesome shouted despite not having his mic anymore, trying to keep his panting out of his voice, “It’s a party, isn’t it?! So, so stop standin’ there like a bunch of dorks and let’s THROW DOWN!” With that, he went back to dancing. He didn’t care if nearly every move made his side or his stomach or some other part of his body hurt, nor did he care about how blurry his vision was now.

After all, it’s not like he needed to see to dance, he knew this routine backwards and forwards! All those late hours of practicing had to be good for something, right? Turn, step, step, spin, leg up, side step, turn- Grop, when did it get so hot on this planet? 

He couldn’t hear any cheering now. All he could hear was the music pumping, the tempo faster now. And yet, it was also sorta muffled? Stupid tech, now his own tempo was way off, his feet practically getting tangled together. In the midst of all the fog now surrounding his mind, Awesome pushed through it. No way was he going to let himself collapse again on stage just because he was tired! Maybe he wasn’t in a dance competition this time, but he still wasn’t going to lose!

Step, step, stumble, turn, stumble, spin, wobble- Flashes of heat, his body feeling like it was suffocating as each limb ached and his hips about ready to give out. But he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop! He, he-! Grop, what was wrong with these people?! Why weren’t they cheering?! This was his big party! This was his show! This was supposed to be the thing that won everyone back! He NEEDED this to work!

‘Tc’ch, maybe a bit more strutting and a few poses would rile the crowd back up,’ he thought to himself, managing a half-smirk. So, picking the blurry spot that looked like it had the most people, Awesome stepped forward. Step, step, a quick fist pump, step, step, ste-.

He heard a couple people shout as he wobbled, his right foot now having nothing to stand on, and his body not reacting fast enough to bring his leg back to safety. “Aw man…” he mumbled, his smirk gone as his eyelids finally closed on him. There were a couple more screams, but they were barely acknowledged by the shark-man as he finally fell off the edge, slipping into unconsciousness before he even hit the ground.

**()()()()()()()()()()**

**()()()()()()()()()()**

**()()()()()()()()()()**

“…Ughhhhhh…” Why… Why did it feel like he had just been hit by a space cruiser? 

And, where even _was_ he? Maybe if he had been feeling a bit better, he would’ve been more concerned and less curious to find out. Even so, Awesome couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved when he opened his eyes and saw only yellow paint and a couple red stripes on the walls around him.

Looked like there were hospital beds too, and- He met the gaze of a couple Watchdogs. Their voices were a bit muffled, though they seemed happy at least. After a couple moments though, they left his line of sight. Moaning again, Awesome closed his eyes. 

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there - not quite asleep but not quite awake either - but eventually his mind became curious enough to open his eyes once more. He was definitely in a hospital, or maybe it was called Sick Bay when it was on a ship? Whatever. As he looked around the room, the shark-man eventually spotted something that was not just in the room, but actually on him. Tubes it looked like. Or, wires maybe? “What the flarp…?”

Reaching over, he tried to pull it out- “Hey!” Awesome flinched, retracting his hand. “I don’t really know how those I.V. things work, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to just pull them out!”

Recognizing the voice now, Awesome scowled. “And just what makes you think I want advice from you, Hatey?”

Hater scowled back at him as he walked towards the former emperor. “Nothing, and what makes you think that _I_ care what you want? Besides, you’re on MY ship, so-!”

“Yeahhh, speaking of which, what am I doing here on your lame ship?” Awesome retorted. Did he seriously think that just because he was captured once it would mean that he could be captured a second time? No way.

Hater crossed his arms, looking a bit smug though still keeping a frown on his face. “Your butler and bouncer guys suggested it, saying that my Sick Bay was probably better than the one on your ship.”

Awesome blinked. “Seriously? …Well, well Flex and Handy aren’t here, are they? So I say to get these annoying tubes out of me and leave me alone!”

The skeletal lord’s frown deepened. “No way. Besides, I bet you probably can’t even walk out of here.” “Tc’ch, of course I can! I’m fine, dude! Totally fine!” 

“You fell off your stage and blacked out,” he stated with a flat look, making Awesome blink again, “That’s not fine - and you’re stupid if you think it is.”

The shark growled, barring his teeth at that. “Fine, whatever! But it doesn’t matter if I’m ‘fine’ or not, I don’t wanna be around you or your stupid ship!”

“I was just trying to help you out before you did something else stupid!” Hater snapped, finally yelling back at him.

“Well who says I even WANTED your help!” “Well you obviously couldn’t since you BLACKED OUT!” “Ughhh, will you SHUT UP ABOUT THAT?!” “YOU SHUT UP!” “NO YOU SHUT UP!” “NO YOU JUST-” “JUST SHUT UP!”

 **“HEY!”** At that, the two rivals turned to look at Peepers - who was giving them both a tired look. “Both of you be quiet!” he said as he walked over Awesome, a clear glass with some sort of dark blue liquid in it in his hand. “Now, here. Just drink this. It’s a relaxant drink of my own design and experimentation, allowing the body to fall into a deep refreshing sleep while at the same time re-hydrating it - something you definitely need.”

Awesome just rolled his eyes, not making a move to grab the glass (though part of him wished he had the strength to give the eyeball a good punch in the cornea). “What a surprise. Commander Nerd’s into chemistry too. And b-t-dubs, just how dumb do you think I am? You could’ve easily just poisoned this ‘relaxant’ of yours.”

“Oh believe me, it was tempting,” Peepers mumbled before giving the shark-man a stern look, “I was just trying to help, but fine. If you don’t want it, don’t take it It doesn’t matter to me.” With that, he placed the relaxant on the bedside table and walked away. Hater however, didn’t even try to leave.

Awesome narrowed his eyes a bit. “…What are you still doing here, dude?” Hater shrugged. “I thought you hated me.”

“I do,” Hater insisted, “I mean, maybe not as much as some of the other people I hate but, I still hate you. And you’re still pretty annoying.” “Then why were you willing to help me?” Again, the skeletal lord shrugged. “I don’t know… Maybe I just felt sorry for you?”

Awesome winced slightly. “I think I liked it more when I thought you just hated me…” he mumbled, glancing away.

There was a moment of silent between the two of them. “…You don’t usually mess up like that,” Hater said suddenly, making Awesome look back at him. “I mean, the parties you throw have been big, but never THAT big. And, and it looked like you were all doing it just to impress someone, or something like that. Didn’t even look like you were having fun. And, you know, the whole blacking out thing too. You usually don’t do that either.” Sure, Awesome drank a lot - he remembered that from their night out several months ago - but he never crashed until all the partying and cool stuff was over.

“…Yeah, well…” As much as he searched his mind for an answer or a snappy retort or an insult, that was all Awesome could really say.

“I guess I was just wondering why you did all that,” Hater finished, looking genuinely curious. But Awesome didn’t care. He just turned over onto his side, stretching his I.V. arm out. “None of your business, bro,” he replied simply.

Hater scowled again. “Fine, whatever. Grod, you really are annoying.” “Right back at you, dude.”

More silence fell, and for a moment, it looked like Hater was actually about to leave. But instead, he decided to say one more thing. “…You’re going to keep making stupid mistakes, you know.”

“…” Awesome scowled, but refused to look back at the skeletal lord. Alright, maybe trying to host a party on hardly any sleep or energy was a stupid idea, but he sure as flarp not going to acknowledge it out loud, nor was he going to let a stupid idea like this one happen again. “No I’m not.” 

“Yeah, you are! You won’t care about _what_ you’re actually doing, you’ll just do it because you’re hoping that it’ll make you feel better, or it’ll make you forget about all those annoying thoughts you have. But it never works, and it’s annoying that it doesn’t, but that’s just the way it is. So you might as well just accept it.”

For a moment, Awesome didn’t say anything. Maybe because he was too in shock. “Tc’ch. …When did you get so smart?”

Despite it all, Hater smirked a bit. “Guess you’ve just missed a lot. Saving a whole galaxy and, and some other stuff that’s happened, usually changes a lot. …Just, just don’t be calling me a good guy or anything like that!”

“Fine, fine.” “Good. …So, yeah. Just accept what happened and maybe-” “Easy for you to say,” Awesome snapped, finally looking back at the skeleton and his gaze acting as a warning.

But Hater met his look without hesitation. “Look, Awesome, we both had to deal with Dominator-”

“Okay, don’t act like you know at all what I’m going through!” He shouted, sitting up now, “Just cause we both had to deal with Do- D- _H-Her_ doesn’t mean you just instantly know how I feel! All that happened to you was that you were laughed at and dumped! You didn’t have to deal with being captured for several days, o-or being imprisoned, or even burned by her! You don’t have to deal with it every night!”

Hater glared back at him. “Maybe I didn’t have to deal with all that stuff specifically, but-” He paused. “…Wait. You have bad dreams about what happened?”

Awesome’s scowl fell, his eyes wide now. “…I-”  _“EMPEROR AWESOMEEEEE!”_ “Huh?” What was going on now?

Looking back towards the Sick Bay doorway, Awesome saw both Wander and Sylvia run into the room - with Wander jumping off Sylvia’s back and running towards him as soon as they arrived. “Awesome, are you alright?!” Wander asked, his face full of concerned. Surprisingly, Sylvia looked concerned as well - not nearly as much as Wander, of course, but it was enough for it to show.

“I, yeah. Yeah dude, I’m fine.” Hater scoffed a bit, but didn’t say anything. …Wait, Hater not getting mad and screaming at the two nomads or chasing them around? Huh. Maybe he really had missed a lot in the last three months. “Geez. …What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“Well, we came as soon as we found out what happened!” Wander replied, “We were worried, and wanted to make sure you were oka-”

“Whoa, hold up. Back up for a sec. You... found out what happened at my party?” He felt a pinch of panic. “A-And just _how_ did you find out?”

“Honestly, the harder question would be how could we have avoided it?” Sylvia told him, deciding it best to just be honest so he could deal with it all now, “The story’s on all celeb news sites. Social media, Viewtube, all that stuff. But uh, hey, at least there’s no schmashtag about it?”

The former emperor groaned, laying back in bed. “Flarrrrrrp.” His reputation was ruined. Toast. Tanked. Completely down the toilet. This one party - this one blackout - would now be the only thing people would think about when people heard his name. It was all over, he was totally ruined and the only thing he could manage to say to it was: “…This sucks.”

“Aww, I know your party didn’t quite go as planned, but I’m sure people will forget eventually!” Wander insisted. He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, but quickly removed it when the shark-man flinched slightly at it. “And… And I’m sure everything else will start to improve soon too!”

Awesome growled, squeezing his fists. “Between you and Hatey, you guys just keep trying to give advice and stuff when you don’t even know what you’re talking about! So will you just stop it already?!”

They could’ve argued with him - in fact, Awesome had been expecting for Hater to at least argue - but they didn’t. Sure, Hater looked a bit annoyed, but Wander just smiled at him. “You’re right. We don’t know what you went through, or all of what you’re goin’ through. But, we’ve all had to deal with some rough patches, and we’ve all had to deal with _her_ in one way or another.”

Awesome’s frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything, so the nomad continued. “So… maybe we’ve all had different experiences, but we’re also all willing to listen to each other if one of us wants to talk about what they’ve been through. Talkin’ about stuff is usually better than keeping it all bottled up, or tryin’ to forget when forgettin’s easier said than done, don’t ya think?”

“…I dunno,” Awesome replied after a few seconds of silence, “But I do know that I don’t really feel like talking about it now.”

“That’s perfectly fine!” Wander insisted, taking a couple steps back, “But when - and if - you wanna talk about it, we’re all willing to listen.”

The shark-man looked at him for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Alright.” Wander nodded back at him, clearly pleased though still calm.

“And hey, in the meantime,” Sylvia started to say, “Since your whole ‘party emperor’ thing is pretty much on hiatus for now, maybe you could take some time to work on yourself and your health instead of your reputation. I mean, it’s worth a shot, right?”

Awesome gave her a bit of a curious look. Work on himself… “Uh, yeah, sure. I guess.”

“Great! Well, we should leave you be so you can get some rest. And don’t worry about wakin’ up early, Hater’ll let ya stay here for as long as you need to, right Hater?” “Hmph, as long as he doesn’t start blasting his music or anything like that, fine.” With that, the trio said their goodbyes and left the room, leaving Awesome alone with just his thoughts, and the sound of the dripping I.V.

Work on himself… Tc’ch, that’s what he had been doing pretty much his entire teenage and adult life! …Or, maybe that had just been ‘working on his reputation’. But, that was just as important, wasn’t it. For as long as he could remember, he had been so determined to be the coolest - and he had been pretty darn successful at it too! Keeping up with the latest trends, getting hundreds of fans and having dozens of lovers, and always the star of the show. Mr. Popularity. The Emperor of Awesomeness!

Sure, there had been a couple missteps - the occasional failed flirting attempt, or getting beat by some villain who may have had more powers but was a total no-name compared to him - but ultimately, he had an untouchable reputation and an awesome life, all the way up until-

He felt a flash of heat, and tried to relax his body as the burning sensations he felt came and went.

Everything he had worked so hard to build up was practically gone in a flash. His fame, his power, his confidence… All because of her. And… “And all because of me…” Because he had been stupid enough to try and flirt with her and win her over just because he thought he was awesome and cool and untouchable enough to do it, despite knowing how powerful and villainous she was. Though, compared to what he would experience afterwards, maybe he didn’t truly know…

He clenched his fists a bit, scowling and trying to blink away the mistiness of his eyes. That one stupid mistake was the cause of all of this… HE was the cause of all of this, and he just kept making things worse and worse. The nightmares, always being on the run, his disaster of a comeback… And maybe, maybe it would’ve been easier if he hadn’t escaped, and if she had just-

“Awesome.” Despite being caught off-guard, Awesome immediately looked up. Hater and Sylvia were still wherever, but Wander was back to standing in the doorway, and for a moment, the nomad had a serious look on his face. It was the most serious he had seen the nomad. After a moment though, his soft smile returned.

“If you’d like, after you’re done resting I can show you where Hater’s pool is. I figured a nice swim would help cheer you up a bit. And, maybe me and some of the Watchdogs could provide some company for ya too.”

He paused for a moment. It did sound sorta nice… When was the last time he just went swimming? “…Yeah. Sure, dude,” Awesome replied simply. 

“Alright. Goodnight, Awesome.” “Night, furball.” Wander giggled a bit at that before quietly leaving the room once more. With a sigh, Awesome laid back down. He still felt sore and exhausted, yet still unable to completely fall asleep. After a moment, he glanced over at the relaxant, still sitting next to him. 

Well, what exactly did he have to lose? Sitting up slightly, Awesome grabbed the glass and chugged the relaxant. Within a few seconds, he was yawning. “Man… Peepsqueak knows what he’s doing when it comes to science stuff, I’ll give him that…”

He slumped in his bed, giving another small sigh. He still didn’t have too much of an intent on talking to anyone on the ship about what had happened to him, or what he was still dealing with. …Maybe eventually, but certainly not now. For now, he still just wanted to forget, and maybe finally catch up on his Z’s. Maybe he could enjoy Hater’s ship and whatever it offered, as well. Might as well enjoy a free stay somewhere. It was a nice change of setting, at least, and being around Hatey and the others wouldn’t be too bad, he supposed… Not too bad at all.

Giving one last yawn, Awesome closed his eyes as he let everything else drift away. 

And, for the first time in what felt like forever, the shark-man actually managed to sleep through the night.

**THE END**


End file.
